After Guan Zhiyue got rid of the women, she took Bilian and headed towards the terraced fields behind the mountain.
"Your Majesty, what should we plant now?"
Guan Zhiyue walked up to the terraced fields and looked at the bare land all over the mountains, where nothing had been planted yet.
"After we turn over the terraced fields again in the next couple of days, we'll start transplanting rice seedlings."
"Transplanting rice seedlings?"
"Oh, it's rice!"
Although Bilian didn't quite understand, she still knew that rice was usually sown directly into the field, so why did they need to be transplanted?
"Your Majesty, do you have some misunderstanding about rice cultivation?" Bilian asked curiously.
Guan Zhiyue stood at the highest point of the terraced fields, looking at the water in the paddy fields. She nodded with satisfaction, seeing that the water level had reached the height she needed. She was also very pleased to see the waterwheel still running in the distance.
"Rice is transplanted, right? If you just scatter it, wouldn't it cover a whole area?"
Bilian didn't quite understand, but she did get it. Her mistress was truly amazing! She knew everything and was incredibly knowledgeable. She became even more enamored with her.
After Guan Zhiyue finished her inspection, she took Bilian back to the Cold Palace courtyard and then went straight to her study to write down a plan on how to cultivate the fields, which she then handed over to the chief eunuch in charge of the terraced fields on the back mountain.
Liu Debao is now the chief eunuch of the Cold Palace. All the affairs in the back mountain are entrusted to this eunuch by Guan Zhiyue, and then this eunuch distributes them.
These people were all talents that Shen Na had transferred from various corners of the country. Now they are all loyal to Guan Zhiyue!
Having lived together for more than half a year, there had never been a single instance of betrayal. Guan Zhiyue was quite satisfied with the servants in the Cold Palace.
In the afternoon, the Manufacturing Department sent a eunuch to deliver a message, saying that all the screws Guan Zhiyue needed had been made according to the Empress's requirements, and that the Empress should go and inspect the goods now. Once the inspection was successful, they could ship the goods.
When Guan Zhiyue went to the Manufacturing Department, she instructed someone to go to Chaoyang Palace, which was the territory of the Carefree Prince, thinking that all the screws for her had been made.
Is the glass installed as well? Will the glass windows in her room be finished today?
So they split into two groups. Guan Zhiyue's personal eunuch, Xiao Dezi, went to Chaoyang Palace, while Guan Zhiyue, accompanied by Bilian, swaggered towards the Manufacturing Department.
——
Manufacturing Division.
"This old minister pays his respects to Your Majesty the Empress!" Lord Yang bowed and said.
Guan Zhiyue quickly told him to get up. This was someone she would often need to trouble in the future, and she didn't want him to think she was being harsh.
"Lord Yang, please rise! I heard that you have already manufactured the screws I needed. I'd like to come and see how the finished product is."
Lord Yang was actually puzzled as to what the Empress needed such a small iron nail for.
"Your Majesty, this old minister has a question, and I would be grateful if Your Majesty could enlighten me?" Minister Yang is quite the questioner; we have a traditional culture of asking questions when we don't understand.
Guan Zhiyue followed behind Lord Yang and walked towards the blacksmith's workshop. The Manufacturing Department was the general term for all the workshops, which included the workshops of artisans making various handicrafts. The whole thing was called the Manufacturing Department.
"Oh? Lord Yang, is there anything I can help you with?"
Seeing that the Empress hadn't said anything, Minister Yang boldly asked, "This old minister doesn't know, Your Majesty, what is the purpose of making this iron nail?"
When Guan Zhiyue looked at the long iron nails that had already been made and placed on the long table, she picked them up and examined them, appearing quite satisfied.
"Lord Yang, you may not know this, but I wish to install glass windows in the Cold Palace!"
Upon hearing this, Lord Yang's first thought was, "What a terrible thing!"
"Ah! Your Majesty, you are this glass, this... sigh!" Lord Yang looked extremely distressed.
Guan Zhiyue could tell at a glance that this old man didn't know that their country had already started producing glass. If all the windows in the Golden Palace were replaced with glass windows, wouldn't these old folks be so frightened that they stumbled?
"Haha, what is Lord Yang worried about?"
Lord Yang looked like he was in angina and dared not say anything more, only waving his hands repeatedly and saying, "No, no, Your Majesty, as long as you are happy, as long as you are happy!"
Guan Zhiyue and Bilian exchanged a glance and said nothing more. They simply looked at the iron nails on the long table and said, "Make more of them like this! We can't run out of stock."
"I need a large quantity made. Lord Yang, the Emperor should issue an order in a couple of days to have this made. You should heed my advice and expedite its production now!"
Lord Yang could only nod in agreement, and then quickly sent this spendthrift woman away!
Glass? That's something only found in overseas countries! And you want to make windows with it? That's an expensive contraption! The Empress is such a spendthrift!
Guan Zhiyue, along with Bilian, returned to the Cold Palace from the Manufacturing Department with about a hundred iron nails that had already been made.
Xiao Dezi, who was going to Chaoyang Palace, waited at the gate of the Cold Palace for his mistress to return. After seeing Guan Zhiyue from afar, he ran towards her.
"Your Highness, the Prince has already sent Liuli to our courtyard. We are just waiting for your return."
Guan Zhiyue's face lit up with joy, and she said with a smile, "Oh! Really? Then let's go back quickly, and before it gets dark, let's change the window in another room."
The three of them ran towards the Cold Palace as they talked. Meanwhile, back at the Imperial Study, after seeing that their Empress had left, Lord Yang quickly shook his official robes, tidied his appearance, and then ran to the Imperial Study with a bitter expression on his face.
"Your Majesty, you must keep a close eye on the Empress."
"Your Majesty the Empress is about to ruin the country!"
"The Empress has no martial virtues!"
"Your Majesty, the Empress is such a spendthrift woman!"
Lord Yang was speaking with tears streaming down his face. He had never cried so bitterly even when his own wife was a spendthrift, so why was he crying as if his own mother had died when the Empress was a spendthrift?
Li Qiji raised his head from the memorial, looked at Lord Yang kneeling before the imperial desk, weeping so loudly it shook heaven and earth, pinched his brow, and then looked at Lord Yang with a puzzled expression.
"Minister Yang, what do you mean by this? How has the Empress become so extravagant?"
When Lord Yang saw that his emperor was finally willing to look up at him, he quickly repeated what Guan Zhiyue had said in the Manufacturing Department.
"Your Majesty, do you think the Empress is being wasteful? Glass, glass is worth more than gold!"
"The Empress even wants to replace all the windows in the Cold Palace with glass ones! Isn't this a disgrace to the country? My God! What a misfortune for the nation! What a misfortune for the nation!"
Li Qiji looked at Lord Yang, who had started howling again, and coughed lightly, saying, "Ahem, Minister Yang, well!"
"I think the Golden Palace should also have its windows replaced with glazed tiles. You should go back and keep an eye on the blacksmith's workshop to make more of those screws that the Empress mentioned."
When Lord Yang heard that the windows of the Imperial Palace also needed to be replaced with glazed tiles, and then thought about how large the Imperial Palace was, with three sections on the left, right, and front, how much glazed tile would be needed, he was so frightened that he fainted...
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